The access of buildings for people with disabilities has attracted considerable attention in recent years and a great deal of work has been undertaken to improve the accessibility of public buildings for people with disabilities.
The Disability Act 2005 and the responsibilities that it places on public bodies to ensure the accessibility of their buildings has led to accessibility audits being carried out which will see considerable changes made to public buildings in advance of the 2015 deadline. Equality legislation enacted over the last decade also requires public bodies to provide for the needs of their employees and customers with disabilities.
In many cases, public bodies are striving to go beyond their minimum legal obligations to create environments that are universally accessible to as wide a group as possible.
This period of improvement in the accessibility of buildings presents a considerable opportunity to implement measures to ensure prompt and safe egress for people with disabilities in the event of an evacuation or emergency situation. Ensuring safe egress in an emergency is a complex issue, requiring consideration of a broad range of factors, including the design and usage of a building, the training of staff and the provision of appropriate equipment and facilities. Those responsible for buildings must ensure safe egress for all and this requires consideration of the needs of everyone using the building, particularly the specific requirements of people with disabilities.
The National Disability Authority has produced this guide to promote safe egress and evacuation for people with disabilities. It will be of interest to all public sector staff with responsibility for evacuation, including building and facilities managers, health and safety personnel and human resources professionals. The information contained within the guide will also be of interest to people with disabilities, their families and representative organisations, to building designers and to those who manage buildings operated in the private sector.
We would like to encourage all those with responsibility for building management and for ensuring safe egress in the event of an emergency to take the time to consider this guide and
to develop and implement plans to ensure that everyone can safely and quickly exit a building when required.
Dr Angela Kerins
Chairperson